Deathstalker 05 - Deathstalker Destiny

aid or hide him now, for any amount of money. People would burn down the houses of anyone even suspected of hiding him. But those few cool heads remaining remembered Shub's teleport facilities. Daniel Wolfe could be anywhere. Anywhere at all.
    When the second and traitorous Half a Man murdered General Beckett, and blew up his flagship, that effectively put an end to the Imperial Navy as a single force. Both Army and Navy had respected Beckett, and followed wherever he led.
    Now, any number of officers were competing for the vital position, and factions tore what was left of the Fleet apart, producing only confusion and anarchy.
    There was no overall game plan anymore. Increasingly now, each planet and each ship fought alone, protecting its own. Parliament issued increasingly hysterical orders, and was ignored by everyone. Now Golgotha stood alone, the homeworld of Humanity left effectively unprotected while Shub and the Recreated raced to see which would get there first.
    Maybe it was the end of all things, after all.
    Jack Random was on the run, but he was used to that. He took advantage of the general chaos, hiding himself in the din with the ease of long practice. No one noticed one more hooded wanderer in the crowded streets, and anyone who made the mistake of trying to mug him found himself staring down the barrel of an energy gun. But mostly no one bothered him. Others had their own problems.
    He'd tried hunting down old friends and allies, appearing at back doors at unexpected hours, looking for support, or a place to go to ground, or even a handful of credits for a hot meal, but no one would see him, let alone talk to him. By now everyone had heard what he'd done. He had put himself beyond the pale, and all hands were turned against him. Truth be told, he took a kind of cold satisfaction from that. It felt good, not having to live up to other people's expectations anymore. He was his own man now, unfettered and uncompromising, free to do whatever he considered to be the right thing, and to hell with everyone else.
    He was currently sleeping on the cold, hard concrete floor of one of his weapons caches, wrapped in a cloak and his own bitter satisfaction. He'd never trusted peace to endure, and he'd been right. He'd left caches of weapons and supplies all over the Parade of the Endless, just in case he might need them again someday. In fact, the city contained enough hidden guns and explosives and other useful items for him to fight a very long war, if need be. He smiled at the thought, lying stiffly on the hard floor, and watched his breath steam on the air before him. The lockup garage he was currently calling home was both secret and secure, but it was completely lacking in comforts, most definitely including any form of heating. Winter had come early to Golgotha, as if things weren't bad enough, and the nights were bitterly cold. And all Random had was his cloak and
    his rage to keep him warm. But Jack Random had put up with worse in the past, in his long fight for honor and revenge.
    He sat up slowly, wincing, and wondered why, if he was a Maze-enhanced and rejuvenated superbeing, he still woke up most mornings feeling like someone had just dug him up, and then hit him over the head with the shovel. He hawked and spat, coughed for just a little longer than was comfortable, and then washed out his mouth with what was left of the last night's alcohol. Booze was cheaper than clean water at the moment, and easier to find. Even if it did taste like battery acid. There was a worm at the bottom of the bottle, and he chewed it noisily.
    All he had for breakfast was a few protein cubes in the emergency locker, and he didn't feel up to facing them just yet. Instead, he rose slowly to his feet and then forced himself through a series of exercises, until his body was running smoothly again. He strapped on his gun and sword, and searched through the boxes of supplies for a bandolier of grenades. He was only partway down his list of crooked politicians, and he was looking forward to hunting them down one by one.
    The last thing on his mind was the previous Empress, Lionstone XIV, also known as the Iron Bitch, so he was more than a little surprised when he suddenly heard her voice speaking in his head.
    Hello, Jack. It's been a while since we last talked, hasn't it?
    "Indeed it has," said Random, looking vaguely about him, even though he realized the voice was coming through his comm implant. "How the hell did you find